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“You have someone special in your life, cariño?”
Pippa bit her lip and nodded even though he couldn’t see her. “Yes.”
“I’d be honored. Te quiero mucho,” he said.
“I love you too, Papi.”
She ended the call, a riot of emotions churning inside her. Love and guilt. Pride and shame. But, overall, gratitude for the man who had sacrificed everything so that she could be here today. He was the best dad—much like Mason in a lot of ways. Would Mason want to meet her father when he came? Was she ready for that?
Later that afternoon, Pippa walked down the beach with Mason by her side. Aspen was playing catch with Lady. It was nice to be able to see her hard-working service pet just be a dog for a little while. Mason was by her side in case she needed assistance.
Cold seawater lapped at her feet before the waves receded back out to the ocean. The process repeated over and over. He slipped his hand in hers and squeezed. Pippa looked up at him before flicking her gaze to Aspen laughing and running with Lady towards the ball.
“What if Aspen sees?” Pippa asked.
Mason smiled and shrugged. “I’ve already talked to her.”
“You have?” Her eyes widened.
He nodded.
“And?”
Mason chuckled. “And she said she was running out of ways to get us to spend time together.”
Pippa blinked and then burst out laughing. Mason joined her.
“She knew I would be at the beach that day,” Pippa mused.
“She did. When she told me, it explained her sudden urge to go paddleboarding after having no interest the previous year. Not to mention how quickly she disappeared right after we found you.” He chuckled.
“She set us up.”
“See? Even she knows how perfect you are for me.” He winked.
Pippa couldn’t hold back her smile. She wrapped her arm around his waist and his spread out over her shoulder.
“You have a good day at the bookstore?” Mason asked, stopping to pick up a piece of blue sea glass before handing it to her.
She studied the object as they continued their walk, arms around each other. It was as blue as his eyes. She tucked it into her pocket. “Yes. It was busy, but I still managed to get some of the secret library cleaned out.”
“Secret library?” he asked.
“Well, I hope it will be someday. For now, it’s just an extra room like an old office. There isn’t much in there, but I have a Pinterest board dedicated to it. I want to add some built-in bookshelves that go all the way to the high ceiling and add a ladder on those bar things. Oh, and I want to somehow make the door a secret door with a hidden book lever or something.” She waved her hands animatedly as her excitement grew.
“Like a Beauty and the Beast type of library but on a smaller scale?”
“What is it with your obsession over that cartoon? I think I’ll start calling you Beast from now on,” she teased.
“Aspen made me watch it on repeat for a full year. It’s still one of her favorite movies, so I catch it here and there. Pretty sure I know every word by heart. But you have to admit, it was a cool library.”
“Oh, no doubt about it. It’s totally my fantasy.”
A seagull cawed overhead before dropping to the shore to devour a crab. Aspen’s laughter filtered towards them in the breeze as she and Lady splashed in the coastline.
“I’d really like to hear more about your fantasies.” Mason’s hand dropped to her ass.
She giggled and elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “I’m sure you would.”
